J.M. Rolph Jazz Pickups

Pickup features: Single-coils, passive, Wound to late ' 70s specifications
Impedence or other specs: Neck pickup @ 7.9 kohms & Bridge pickup @ 8.2 kohms

Model of guitar or bass: Fender 1978 jazz bass
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: J.M. Rolph
Other pickups on guitar: bridge pickup; replaced with J.M. Rolph
Artists using this pickup: n/a
You musical style(s): funk, contemporary jazz, reggae, gospel
Reason for pickup change: Since October 30, 2001, I have measured pickups from several late '70s Fender jazz basses. They all had the Marcus Miller tone. "Really Spooky." The resistance of the pickups varied. The neck pickups read 7.8- 8.0 kohms, and the bridge pickups read 7.7-8.2 kohms. The tones were truly "Marcus."

Perceived output level: The output level was slightly more than a stock Fender jazz pickup. The tone is totally different in a positive way.
Tone: Very well balanced. Good low-mids, bottom and top
Sonic evaluation: Small Rig: Nememsis 210 combo, 200 watts rms. Very good sounding small amp with good features.
Large Rig: Eden 210T/Eden 115XL. Crown Power Tech 1 amp, and a GT Bass Tube Preamp(manf. by SWR). I bi-amp, and run the low side of the power amp full-up, and the high-side of the power amp 1/2 up.
Both of these rigs sound very good to me.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play '70s funk, contemporary jazz, gospel and reggae. These pickups fill it up!

Comments: The pickups that J.M. Rolph made for me the first time were cool, but wasn't quite on the mark.(That was my fault). These pickups are the "real thang." Few pickups sound as good as these,i.e., John Suhr, and Lindy Fralin. John Suhr and Lindy Fralin both make great sounding jazz pickups as well. Just being honest :-)
I truly believe that the resistance values of these pickups are very similar to those in the 1977 jazz bass of the great "Marcus Miller."

Pickup features: Single-coil passive, rewound to 1966 specifications
Impedence or other specs: neck pickup-7.3k & bridge pickup-7.6k @ 70 degrees F

Model of guitar or bass: 1978 Fender Jazz bass
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Neck pickup didn't sound like I wanted it to.
Other pickups on guitar: Bridge pickup was really weak so I had it rewound as well.
Artists using this pickup: Marcus Miller, Victor Bailey, Jaco, etc.......
You musical style(s): Contemporary Jazz, Reggae, R&B, Blues
Reason for pickup change: The pickups sounded dull. I asked Jim what he thought was best and went from there. After playing the pickups I was relieved to have finally found the real "MARCUS MILLER SOUND." Jim Rolph really knows about vintage Fender guitar and bass pickups.

Perceived output level: This bass sounds as close to Marcus Miller's bass as possible.
Tone: Tight bottom, good mids, and very nice top.
Sonic evaluation: I use a Nemesis 210 combo amp. This bass/amp combination is great. The Nemesis is small, but packs a real "BANG" and is easy to carry. Also, I have a Thompson(me) modified Bartolini TCT outboard preamp. I (Thompson) made this preamp so that I could use it with any passive bass. My friends say prototype preamp with Bartolini parts sounds better than any other preamp on the market.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: These pickups sound great for any style of music.

Comments: If these pickups were destroyed or stolen, I would cry like a baby. I have tried many other pickups, but these are by far some of the best sounding pickups I have ever heard for single-coil jazz pickups. (NOTE: BARTOLINI 9J#1 and 9J#4 are my favorite single-coil size humbuckers.)Anyways, Jim is a super nice guy,and really knows his stuff. Jim is one of the best pickup making guys in the business.